Pakatan still on track to Putrajaya after Hulu Selangor
Posted by Kit in Election, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 27 April 2010, 10:10 am
By Kenny Gan
It was an intense hard fought by-election in a traditional Umno stronghold which many said was too close to call. BN’s Hulu Selangor campaign was as dirty and nasty as any other by-election and dirtier than most with the stakes seen as a referendum on Najib’s administration. BN fought mostly with character assassinations and money. Both sides also released strategically timed policies, land titles and grants although naturally PR could not match BN’s largess.
The campaign was fierce and furious with both sides throwing in their biggest guns with PR bringing in revered Tok Guru Nik Aziz to shore up Zaid’s Islamic credibility among the conservative Malays. The normally ignored Orang Asli were wooed by BN with parties, booze and cash and Felda settlers who were nursing grievances for decades suddenly found the sky raining with money and promises. Even Maika shareholders were buoyed by the strategically timed news that a buyout of their troubled investment is in the works.
In an uncharacteristic move for an incumbent prime minister which underscored how important this by-election is, Najib Razak himself joined the fray. The Election Commission also got into the act with a dubious transfer of 14,000 voters between polling stations, seen as a calculated move to cause confusion. Several hundred pro-opposition voters were also transferred outside the constituency and denied their right to vote.
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So why did PKR lose in Hulu Selangor?
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid | The Malaysian Insider
APRIL 26 — It was rather anticipated that Barisan Nasional would snatch the Hulu Selangor seat yesterday from right under Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) nose and without giving too much credit to the former, two factors contributed to this somewhat predestined outcome.
First, the notoriously poor and inefficient machinery. The second is the candidate factor itself.
PKR’s Datuk Zaid Ibrahim lost to MIC information chief P. Kamalananthan by a 1,725-vote majority. The former law minister garnered 23,272 votes while his opponent, a public relations practitioner whose qualifications were subject to tactical scrutiny by Zaid and Co, bagged 24,997 votes.
Yes, there were strong intrinsic statistical factors that led to Zaid’s loss as reflected by past voting patterns. After all, the sizeable constituency of 64,500 eligible voters has been opposition-proof up until the unpopular Datuk G. Palanivel, a four-term incumbent, was dethroned in Election 2008.
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Umno outsourcing extremism to Perkasa, says Kit Siang
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang today accused Umno of outsourcing its “extremist demands” to Perkasa after the right-wing Malay group demanded Barisan Nasional (BN) review its aid for the Chinese in Hulu Selangor.
The group had demanded the government reconsider its election pledges to the Chinese in Hulu Selangor because of the community’s poor support for the ruling coalition in yesterday’s by-election.
“It is very clear that Umno has outsourced its extremist demands to Perkasa. The voice of Perkasa represents (the views) of the Umno extremists,” Lim told The Malaysian Insider.
The veteran politician claimed this was a test for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on whether his 1 Malaysia concept of unity was actually practised or a mere farce.
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Twitter spat on Najib’s HS RM3m pledge to SRJKC Rasa
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election, Najib Razak, Twitter on Monday, 26 April 2010, 8:18 pm
weekasiongmp:
RT @NajibRazak: Honoured the ppl of HS have given us their vote. Our work has just begun. focus now is on delivering on what we promised.
04/26/2010 03:39 PM
limkitsiang:
Well if Najib can spend RM77 million 2wangle a Najib-Obama meet, what is RM200 million 2wangle byelection victory though pyrrhic victory
04/26/2010 03:39 PM
limkitsiang:
Pyrrhic victory – a victory with such devastating cost 2victor; carries implication anthr such will ultmtly cause defeat http://bit.ly/X4MMf
04/26/2010 03:44 PM
limkitsiang:
Based on 24,997 BN votes will work out 2RM6,666 per head RT @Maobi72: @limkitsiang Sdr. you can only divide based on voter turn out..
04/26/2010 03:56 PM
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BN’s pyrrhic victory in Hulu Selangor
by Dr Lim Teck Ghee
Far from being a resounding victory for the BN and a devastating loss for Pakatan Rakyat, the Hulu Selangor election result is another clear indicator that Malaysians do not see a secure future for themselves in a continuation of the BN government.
The BN leadership may be happy about the outcome and the official media may spin about the vote of confidence for Najib’s leadership but the extremely large opposition vote – against all odds – shows that many in Hulu Selangor and throughout the country (as the string of recent by-elections demonstrates) continue to embrace the “reformasi” programme of change for the country.
From the moment, Zaid was nominated to stand in Hulu Selangor, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the Paktan. This was no ordinary opponent that the PR was bringing into the fray. Thus, Zaid was a candidate that the BN had to kill off – whether by hook or by crook.
Zaid had been a Minster brought into the last Badawi cabinet to give the electorate some hope that Umno was capable of implementing a programme of change for the good of the country. He was not the usual leader who had risen to power through the opportunistic use of race and religion, and whose main agenda was aggrandizement of self and family under the guise of “untuk agama dan bangsa”.
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Would MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers resign if Najib does not honour his Hulu Selangor by-election promise to issue RM3 million cheque today for building of new Rasa Chinese primary school?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election, Najib Razak on Monday, 26 April 2010, 10:42 am
The 1,725-vote majority victory of the Barisan Nasional in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election yesterday is a pyrrhic victory for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak – so devastatingly costly both in political and monetary terms that they lay the seeds for the forthcoming defeat of the Barisan Nasional.
The Barisan Nasional has a bill of over RM100 million for its Hulu Selangor by-election campaign – RM60 million for various infrastructure projects and easily more than RM40 million for the Barisan Nasional election campaigners and the many rent-a-crowd outings for the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and other Cabinet Ministers.
After such outpourings of money politics, the 1,725-vote majority is actually more a defeat than a victory for Najib and the Barisan Nasional.
The UMNO target was to win Hulu Selangor with at least 6,000-vote majority and the Umno leadership was so confident of this huge victory that the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin went public on this Umno objective mid-day during Hulu Selangor polling yesterday.
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Genuine Obsessions With Fake Qualifications
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa on Monday, 26 April 2010, 10:39 am
By M. Bakri Musa
The kerfuffle over the college credentials of Kamalanathan a/l P. Pancanathan, the Barisan candidate in the recent Ulu Selangor by-election, reveals less of the man but more on our fascination with paper qualifications. This obsession with credentialism is an intellectually lazy way to judge someone; you let those papers and certificates do it for you.
Who cares if you have a doctorate from Oxford, for if you cannot speak and read our national language then you have no business to be in Parliament or the state Assembly, where bills are debated and businesses conducted in Malay. You cannot possibly be effective if you are not fluent in that language.
At the same time with Malaysia inextricably linked with the greater world and English being the global language, our legislators and others who presume to lead us should be equally facile in that language. Anything less and they would not be serving us – their clients – honestly and honorably.
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MACC should investigate whether Najib had committed at least two election bribery offences under Election Offences Act 1957 in the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign yesterday
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election, Najib Razak on Sunday, 25 April 2010, 4:02 pm
It has been brought to my attention that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should investigate whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had committed at least two election bribery offences under the Election Offences Act 1957 in the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign for the Barisan Nasional candidate yesterday.
The first incident was his blatant disregard of the Election Offences Act against bribery when he tried to induce the 1,500 voters of Rasa to vote for the BN candidate by announcing the approval of RM3 million for rebuilding Rasa Chinese Primary School but with one big condition.
Najib publicly declared: “If we win this by-election, you can come to Kuala Lumpur the next day to look for me. I will write a personal letter to approve the money and it will be transferred to the school board’s account. If we lose, don’t have to come.”
The second incident was during his visit to Kampong Hassan where he promised the Chinese-majority voters in the area that the Barisan Nasional government would build 200 low-cost housing for them if the BN candidate wins the by-election.
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MACC’s latest and greatest test – dare it investigate the Prime Minister whether he had violated Election Offences Act 1954 for RM3 million electoral bribery in Hulu Selangor by-election?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election, Najib Razak on Sunday, 25 April 2010, 2:24 pm
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Malaysia’s Corruption Perception Index 2010 ranking of Transparency International are already reeling from two serious blows:
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the mysterious death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock at the MACC Headquarters falling from 14th to 5th floor on July 16 last year and the inability of the Teoh family and the Selangor State Government to persuade renowned Thai pathologist Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunand to return to Malaysia continue her testimony at the Teoh Beng Hock inquest because of “pressures” on the Thai Government from the Malaysian side; and
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the farce of the prosecution and acquittal on corruption charges of the two Perak “frogs”, Perak State Assemblymen Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu who played key roles in the illegal and undemocratic toppling of the Pakatan Rakyat Perak State government in February last year.
Now, there is a third and bigger headache for the MACC.
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Tweets since polling eve
ntv7 censorship n Joshua’s resignation – call 4public inquiry as Najib’s denial of Rosmah’s role lacks credibility http://bit.ly/dCtT14
about 24 hours ago via web
1+million MCA mmbrs shld openly vote agnst MCA/BN candidates in next GE as they cannot hold heads high, in pride/honour http://bit.ly/cbQ6KG
about 24 hours ago via web
#P94 #HS Latest survey shows PKR slightly ahead http://bit.ly/c29QHN PR 51.7% vs BN 48.3 %
about 23 hours ago via web
Very true RT @ahpooki: @limkitsiang uncle lim, be careful wif these borderline numbers..can go either way. PR must hv 80%..yeah !! go PR go..!!
04/24/2010 01:44 PM
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Let Hulu Selangor set the benchmark for good conduct
by P Ramakrishnan
24 April 2010
By-elections have a habit of bringing out the worst in individuals. It is a time when certain party members suddenly become wise and enlightened. It is a time when hypocrisy takes centre stage.
It is rather strange that people who have been members of a political party and who have been running down their opponents – meaning BN and Umno – for quite a while now suddenly discover that their party is no longer the same and that their leaders had betrayed the rakyat.
The timing of their confession when a by-election is on only betrays their hypocrisy and confirms the claim that PRK members are paid between RM1,000 and RM1,500 for making damaging statements and condemning their former party. Read the rest of this entry »
The more than one million MCA members should openly vote against MCA and BN parliamentary and state assembly candidates in next general elections
The more than one million MCA members should openly vote against MCA and BN parliamentary and state assembly candidates in next general elections as they cannot hold their heads high, in pride and honour, as a result of the irresponsible politics of top MCA and Umno leaders.
Just two examples from the recent Parliamentary meeting suffice to demonstrate why the acts of omission and commission by MCA Ministers have made it impossible for the more than a million MCA members to stand tall among the people.
First, the tabling of the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on Monday to impose many arbitrary and oppressive measures, like the more than three-fold increase of compound fines for traffic offences from RM300 to RM1,000.
Because of public outrage at the oppressive amendments and the impending Hulu Selangor by-election on Sunday, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz quickly withdrew the Bill.
This creates a double first – first time a Bill was withdrawn in super-quick time of 48 hours, which shows that the Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat had been most irresponsible and negligent in not giving proper consideration and care in drafting the amendments.
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Call for public inquiry as Najib’s denial of Rosmah’s role in media censorship of ntv7 news talk resulting in resignation of senior producer Joshua Wong lacks credibility
Posted by Kit in Media, Najib Razak on Saturday, 24 April 2010, 1:02 pm
The denial of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor had a role in the media censorship of ntv7 news talks show “Editor’s Time” resulting in the resignation of senior producer Joshua Wong lacks credibility.
If Najib is convinced that Rosmah is not involved, he should set up a public inquiry to clear Rosmah’s name and convince Malaysians that he is not setting a new precedent where the Prime Minister’s wife is assuming the de facto role of a Super Minister spanning various ministries by openly intervening in public and government affairs.
Does Najib agree that any involvement of the Prime Minister’s wife in the media censorship of ntv7 talk show resulting in the resignation of Joshua Wong is completely unacceptable and undesirable?
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Farce of prosecution and acquittal of two Perak “frogs” has plunged public confidence in MACC to new low and will cause Malaysia’s CPI 2010 to plumb a new depth
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Saturday, 24 April 2010, 12:03 pm
The farce of the prosecution and acquittal of the two Perak “frogs” has plunged public confidence in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to a new low and will cause Malaysia’s Corruption Perception Index 2010 of Transparency International to plumb to a new depth from the nation’s present worst ranking of No. 56 in 2009.
Even before public confidence in MACC has recovered from the fatal blow of the mysterious death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock at the MACC Headquarters falling from 14th to 5th floor on July 16 last year, the MACC has scored another own goal with the farcical prosecution and acquittal of the two “frogs” in Perak.
MACC and the Barisan Nasional should know the outcome if an opinion poll is conducted among Perakians and Malaysians as to whether they believe there was a “package deal” offered to engineer the defection of the two “frogs” and their dastardly betrayal of the people’s mandate to topple the legitimate Pakatan Rakyat Perak state government and Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin.
The new grievous blow to public confidence in the MACC could not have come at a worse time, when public outrage at the obstacles and pressures put in the way of the renowned Thai pathologist Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunand to prevent her from coming to the country to testify in the inquest into the causes of Teoh Beng Hock’s death has not subsided.
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Eight reasons why the 8,000 MCA members in Hulu Selangor should teach MCA and UMNO leaderships a severe lesson by voting for PR candidate Zaid Ibrahim on Sunday’s by-election
There are only 36 hours of campaigning left before the Hulu Selangor voters go to the polls in the Sunday by-election.
Barisan Nasional has the lead in the Hulu Selangor by-election. The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir have unleashed a blitzkrieg Umno/Barisan Nasional assault marked by a campaign of falsehoods and character assassination against the Pakatan Rakyat and candidate.
The impact of such intensive Umno/BN campaign, particularly on the Malay voters in the outlying areas without easy access to Pakatan Rakyat information, cannot be underestimated.
I am sounding this alarm alert as I believe it is still possible to overcome this Barisan Nasional lead in the next 36 hours for Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to be elected as the new MP for Hulu Selangor, provided all Pakatan Rakyat leaders and campaigners from PKR, PAS and DAP make a supreme effort to get every possible voter out to the polling stations on Sunday.
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Press censorship of ntv7 talk show involving Prime Minister’s wife Rosmah resulting in resignation of senior producer Joshua Wong must be deplored by all Malaysians as an undesirable and dangerous precedent
Posted by Kit in Media, Najib Razak on Friday, 23 April 2010, 1:48 pm
The press censorship of popular hour-long ntv7 talk show “Editor’s Time” involving the Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor resulting in the resignation of senior producer Joshua Wong must be deplored by all Malaysians as an undesirable and dangerous precedent.
Two important issues and principles are involved in this scandal and fiasco.
Firstly, media censorship. When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister a year ago, he promised the country an open, accountable and transparent government as well as a free press.
The press censorship of ntv7 popular talk show is a flagrant violation of Najib’s pledges on his assumption of the sixth premiership in the country.
The media censorship and restrictions on the ntv7 talk show includes:
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The show not allowed to discuss political issues;
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Opposition leaders cannot be invited to the show, including DAP MP Tony Pua who was to take part on the topic relating to the New Economic Model; and
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Ban on the ‘Hulu Selangor by-election’ show, which was originally scheduled for April 22.
Kit sounds alarm bells for Pakatan campaign
Posted by Kit in Election, Pakatan Rakyat on Friday, 23 April 2010, 1:47 pm
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA KUBU BARU, April 23 — Lim Kit Siang urged his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition today to fight for every single vote in the final stretch of the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign, pointing out that Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is now the underdog against Barisan Nasional’s (BN) P. Kamalanathan.
“The red light is on,” Lim told a press conference here this morning, in a tacit admission that PR was now trailing behind BN in the race for votes this Sunday.
Lim (picture) said the campaigning effort in the Malay and Indian majority areas by BN is not to be underestimated.
“According to them, they are in the lead and have more chances to win. This is a critical development.
“I want to set the alarm and urge all leaders to go all out to secure every single vote,” said the Ipoh Timur MP.
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A foregone conclusion
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Parliament on Friday, 23 April 2010, 8:31 am
By P Ramakrishnan President of Aliran
The decision to refer Anwar Ibrahim to the Rights and Privileges Committee did not come as a surprise to Malaysians. It was a foregone conclusion. Even before the debate began in Parliament, the outcome was very obvious.
The whole issue had descended into “Get your enemy at all cost – forget about justice and fair play.” In a game of numbers, there is no need to be moral about what you do. Just nail him. You have the numbers to achieve that!
The Rights and Privileges Committee – according to what Malaysians tend to believe – would find Anwar guilty and suspend him. His removal from Parliament would spare them from Anwar’s scathing attacks and more embarrassing revelations that would put them in a spot.
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #11
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Friday, 23 April 2010, 8:28 am
By M Bakri Musa
Chapter 2: Why Some Societies Progress, Others Regress
Culture Matters
Long before the Europeans were sending their sailors to explore the waters of the Orient, the Chinese were already regularly plying the same seas with their elaborate sailing junks. From 1405 and 1431 the Chinese had undertaken several maritime expeditions, venturing as far west as Madagascar, sailing in huge flotillas of about 300 vessels each.
Their ships were not mere junks; each measured in excess of 400 feet long and 160 feet wide, multi-decked, and capable of ferrying hundreds of personnel. They made Columbus’s 85-foot Santa Maria nothing but a lake dinghy by comparison. Those junks had grand staterooms, staggered masks, and tiered sails. They were the original luxury yachts, fit for the representatives of the Son of Heaven and their guests.
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Whistleblower Protection Bill debate : RPK and PI Bala not “whistleblower” as understood by Umno-BN (video)
Posted by Kit in Parliament on Thursday, 22 April 2010, 5:58 pm
Speech Part 1
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